


The Past Haunts

by Control_Room



Series: Charlotte, Joey, and... Joey? [5]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Family, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Past Homelessness, Time Shenanigans, i dont know how to tag this honestly, mention of violence, minor blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21761647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Control_Room/pseuds/Control_Room
Summary: Time does not work in a linear fashion around Johan. Jekyll finds that out first hand.
Relationships: Joey Drew & Joey Drew
Series: Charlotte, Joey, and... Joey? [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568356
Comments: 12
Kudos: 7





	The Past Haunts

It was late at night already. Johan and Jekyll sat sipping tea and reading quietly, sometimes commenting to the other on their readings, but no more sound than that and the occasional leafy sound of a page turning. And a sneeze every now and then from Johan. Those became more and more frequent.

Jekyll set his book aside with a raised eyebrow after what could have been the seventieth or eightieth sneeze. 

“Are you coming down with a cold, kid?” he asked, getting up to put a hand on Johan’s forehead. The young man smiled tiredly, leaning against his hand. “You’re not hot.”

“I d-don’t get colds, sir,” Johan mumbled, sneezing again. “Just viruses.”

“Seems like you picked one up,” Jekyll sighed, ruffling his hair, slipping his arms under him to pick him up, silently thanking the universes that Johan was so light. The chicano hardly gave any protest, in fact leaning against him and dropping his book on the armchair he was sitting improperly on. Jekyll carried Johan to his room in the house, a former guest room. There had been three guest rooms originally, Johan sparing no expense for the recently undemonified man. Jekyll suspected Johan selected such a big house so that he would be able to come over more often to fill it with his company, and he honestly would say he is grateful for that. After getting Johan into his bed, Jekyll tucked him in, ruffling his hair again, watching with bemusement as it danced around his fingers. “Sit tight Jo, I’ll make you some tea.”

“With sugar and lemon?” Johan followed up hopefully, with wide red eyes and a small smile.

“Yes,” Jekyll chuckled. “Extra sugar.”

“Thank you,” Johan mumbled, rolling himself into the blanket.

The tea did not take so long to make, seeing as they just had some, so the kettle was still hot. Johan was drifting asleep when Jekyll returned, a film of tears glossing his eyes, though without sadness. Jekyll had seen this before, knowing that Johan would have nightmares he would not see or remember. He quietly helped him drink his tea, and then there was a knock on the door. 

Jekyll glanced at Johan, a bit vexed that he was sleeping now, right when someone showed up at their door. Then he chuckled it off, knowing he could not blame the boy for getting a bit sick. After gently swiping away the tears that trickled down Johan’s face, he went to get the door.

Familiar exhausted red eyes met his bicolored ones. He knew that exhaustion, he knew those eyes, that person standing, more like leaning, in his doorway, a suitcase clenched in his hand, bandana wrapped tightly around his arm, trembling with exhaustion and a small, pleading, lopsided smile on his lips.

“Hello s-sir,” he rasped, raising his hand to his mouth as he tried to stifle his coughs. “C-can I have a bit of w-water? I, I would be… very grateful.”

For a moment, Jekyll just stood there, rendered completely speechless, then processed what the now even younger young man requested.

“Of course, come in, come in,” he stumbled over his words, ushering the boy in, settling him on the couch by the doorway. “I’ll get you a drink in a second, I just need to check on J-... my son. He came down with a bit of an illness and I want to make sure yo- he’s resting.”

Jekyll made his way back up the stairs, peering into Johan’s room. Sure enough, he was sleeping there just as soundly as Jekyll expected. He quietly closed the door, then dashed back down the stairs to grab a glass from the kitchen and fill it with water.

“Thank you k-kindly, sir,” the ‘new’ Johan stuttered, slowly drinking it with trembling hands. Jekyll only managed to nod, his mind churning in trying to determine where this young lad had popped in from. Was he the Johan of his own dimension? Or was he the very Johan that was now sleeping the floor above? Jekyll’s head spun with the uncertainty. Jekyll snapped out of it when the Johan asked, “S-sorry t-to be a bother, s-sir, but do y-you know a place f-for me t-to stay tonight? A h-hostel or a… y’know, sh-shelter?”

Jekyll’s heart clenched. Johan had hinted that his past was neither comfortable or safe, but had never divulged the details, and now he was seeing it first hand. 

“You can stay here tonight if you’d like, Johan,” he softly told him. The younger man blinked. 

“I don’t recall giving you my name,” he mumbled. “Maybe I said it when I-I came in and f-forgot… and what’s y-your name, s-sir?”

“Jek- er, Jekerson,” Jekyll lied, not sure if he should tell him. “Alistar Jekerson.”

Piercing red eyes studied him. 

Then Johan deflated with a sigh, and a small smile. 

“Pleasure to m-meet you, Mr. Jekerson,” he said, extending a hand to shake. It felt the exact same as Johan’s. Of course it was, after all, it was Johan’s hand. 

“Pleasure is all mine,” Jekyll found himself saying, a familiar call and response. “Do you want something to eat? It is a bit late for dinner, yes, but humor me.”

“I’d l-love to have a meal, b-but I am a bit s-sandy,” he admitted nervously. “If th-there’s somewhere for me to w-wash up b-before that….”

“Yes, there’s a shower upstairs,” Jekyll told him with a smile. He watched Johan smile back, but the smile faltered as his hand gripped his arm curiously over where the bandana was tied. Jekyll frowned, trying to still his panic. “Is something the matter, kid?”

“I know this is a s-strange question t-to ask a host,” Johan slowly said after a moment. “But d-do you by any ch-chance know how to re-remove b-bullet fragments…?”

Jekyll stared at him.

“No, not really,” he replied, just as slowly. “But I’d be glad to help in any way I can.”

“Th-thank you,” Johan inhaled sharply. “R-right then. Bathroom?”

Jekyll led the way. 

“I’ll need t-tweezers, thread, needle, and some alcohol,” Johan told him. Jekyll got all the components out of the medical shelf. Johan took off the bandana, putting it onto his battered suitcase. Jekyll suppressed his gag reflex as he saw the bloody pock mark peeking through Johan’s shirt. He had seen that scar before, but when it no longer was a bloody mess (in both senses). Johan rolled up his sleeve, revealing his arm to be bruised by the shot as well. “Tweezers and alcohol, p-please.”

Jekyll slowly helped him remove all the fragments, desperately wanting to turn tail and run to a corner until the second Johan would vanish, but his fatherly instincts roared against that decision furiously. 

When they finished stitching it up, Jekyll left to give him some privacy for his shower. He let himself panic then. He rushed into Johan’s room, feeling his forehead. Still cool. Still crying in his sleep. Goodness gracious, where on earth did this younger double come from?!

Jekyll went down to the kitchen to pull together the leftovers of their meal to give to the stranger. The... Johan.

The shower eventually turned off. Jekyll decided to take the time to question Johan as to what on earth was going on here, and why he was at his home. In kinder words, of course. 

“Thank you,” Johan honestly told him as he came down the stairs. “Even if you kicked me out r-right now, I can safely say y-your hospitality is by f-far some of the kindest I’ve seen, sir.”

Jekyll felt his heart twinge again.

“No problem, Jo,” he handed him a plate with food. “Enjoy. Though, I am rather curious as to where that gunshot wound came from.”

“It s-sounds crazy,” Johan sighed after a moment, picking at his food, eating it with the same reluctance Jekyll knew Johan for. “M-my stepfather threatened to sh-shoot me if I wouldn’t l-leave, and he sh-shot me anyways as I r-ran away.”

“O-oh,” Jekyll’s heart seized up again, and he resisted the urge to clench at it. “Well, what were you doing wandering around? Surely you have friends or other family?”

Johan’s head lowered, and he slowly shook it.

“I walked into the desert,” he quietly reminisced. “And walked, and walked. Couldn’t find anywhere to go for the last month-th… until I saw the lights of your h-house. I couldn’t be m-more grateful to you, s-sir, for letting me into your w-wonderful home….”

“It’s no problem,” Jekyll softly informed him. “Let’s get you to bed, you seem exhausted.”

“Thank you, s-sir,” Johan weakly said, scrubbing at his tearful eyes. “I’ll never forget your kindness.”

In the morning, the chirping birds woke Jekyll. He stretched with a yawn, going out of his room to find everything spotless. Shining. He wandered around the house with awe, and found on the polished table a note.

‘ _ Thank you again. - JR _ ’

Jekyll picked it up and tucked it into his breast pocket. He made himself coffee, and made tea for Johan.

The young man was awake when he came into his room.

“So,” Jekyll wondered where to begin. “Here’s more tea for you, Jo.”

“Thank you,” Johan beamed happily, taking the cup with still trembling fingers. They were trembling less now than before…. “... doctor Jekyll? Is s-something wrong?”

“Hm? No, nothing kid,” Jekyll brushed it off. It probably was not even the same Johan. Just a look alike. Or something. A figment of his imagination? Figments of imagination do not clean, though. “Just thinking.”

“I am too, maybe we can think together,” Johan offered. Jekyll gave a little chuckle. Johan squinted, then slipped on his glasses, pointing at the letter. “What’s that you got in your pocket?”

“Oh, just a note,” Jekyll shrugged.

“...”

“...”

“I did s-say I’d never forget your kindness,” Johan sighed slowly. “I’m sorry that I seem to have. Memory lapses and all that.”

Jekyll froze.

“I had a dream about coming here last night,” Johan confessed. “I usually don’t remember my dreams. But this one was a memory. A memory of you. Of how you always welcomed me.”

Jekyll hugged Johan. It was all he could think to do. 

“I love you, Johan,” he told him, nearly overwhelmed with emotion. “You’re my kid. The son I never had. I have you now, you’re safe, you’re safe….”

“Thank you,” Johan sniffed, hugging him back tightly. “Thank you, you’re the best father I could ever have wished for, I love you, too….”


End file.
